Last Park Drills

The temps were chillier than I expected, with a stiff wind, but the sun was out, as I headed for TY Park and a last training session including a few loops around the perimeter and taking the hills in the middle with a few sprint drills at the end for good measure. I am not feeling all that great. Work has been crazy stressful thus far this week, and my sleep is rough. My worries extend in many directions, and I'm feeling the pressure of everything coalescing including the race itself.

I had my moment, however, cruising down the middle of the park, away from the other runners, bikers, mommies and strollers, trying to remember what it feels like to enjoy the rhythm and ride of a good run, and fantasizing about life after this week is over and I can have regular runs of any length and time. Life comes in rhythms, we ramp up and down according to our responsibilities and intended projects. For the more internally motivated it's a pressure to create. For those who wait on the pressures of outside forces it feels like problems mounting on our heads. I have always answered to internal forces, but these days I have more than enough to do from outside sources. Balance, staying on my feet, endurance, patience, rhythm all play their part in keeping my forward motion. Not getting caught up in the minutiae of any one run. Not allowing my attitude to become hooked on one outcome, one point of view, one emotion. Runs have parts, and those parts can be broken down or built up like art, to create ongoing tapestries. The trick is to stay light, be light while you travel the distance between start to finish, and remember, even at the end, it goes on.